Composition – prepare your plan for success, enjoy succeeding in your plan

Where do I start ? The answer probably lies in last month’s blog and the word is “planning”. Deciding what you want to achieve before you even step outside the door will help you determine what gear you need to pack and the quality if images you bring home.

“Research” is the second word. Done in the comfort of your own home/studio you can easily work out what your shoot may be affected by. Indeed, at least 5 of the following items might be the very reason you are going out taking photographs. Try clicking on the stormy scene at Sandsend to visit our shop and view available products for your home.

• Weather
• Terrain
• Sunrise/Sunset times
• Direction of sunlight throughout the day of your shoot
• Tide times when shooting at the coast
• Access rights
• Safe parking (preferably free). Overnight camping availability if appropriate.

None of these affect the composition of a shot but will prevent you wasting time at the venue which could have been spent productively composing shots. They may also improve the shots you do capture or ensure you don’t trespass on private land and above all, put your life in danger on dangerous terrain or become stranded by advancing tides.  The sea is an angry unforgiving place, even if it does make for spectacular photography.

SO . . . . . . What’s the first thing you do when you arrive at your chosen venue ? For me I always put my bag down, get my flask out and pour a cup of hot Bovril. Then I wander around for 30 minutes or so just looking at the scenes before me. This helps me choose what I feel might make good compositions.

This will involve turning round 360 degrees and taking note of where the light is coming from and what the direction of travel is going to be for the sunlight. Doing this may produce several possible compositions during my stay at the venue which I will mark with rocks or sticks, and maybe taking a mock shot on my phone to remind me.

Only then will I open my camera bag and pull out my camera body. Returning to what I feel might be the best composition site, I will attach a lens appropriate to the shot which to start will likely be a versatile 24 – 105mm zoom. And “frame up” the view to see what content I can best include (or exclude) to produce the best image. I may get lucky straight away, I may feel some content spoils the composition but can be removed in post-op or I might think it looks complete rubbish and move on to my next selection.

So now I’ve selected a scene I can work with and am able to produce an image I like. And I check on things like sunlight direction, telegraph poles and other things that could make (include) a good image or ruin (exclude) an image that would otherwise be very presentable.

And next month I will deal with the next stage of making a good composition. I look forward to seeing you then.

See you next time.